Speaker 1
we're going to have this conference. And then, you know, if each of us tells two other people and they tell two other people, then pretty soon, you know, by the time we get to two to the 11th, we'll have the whole place. But there's much in that everybody. What we think of as critical thinking and what, when I was in school, may have been called logic or logical reasoning is a very important idea. And you mentioned politicians. I claim that, now look, I'm from the States. I'm from the US. I grew up here. I don't know any better. But I've traveled the world a little bit and see what you will. The US is the most influential culture. I mean, Disneyland everywhere. But along that line, I claim the guys who wrote the Constitution and whoever was it influenced them were nerds. And they were trying to come up with a system, a system of government that had built into it change. You know, I just think how those conversations would have gone in colloquial terms with, you know, some of their British buddies. So you're going to have a king, right? No, no, we're not going to have a king. Dude, come on. You're going to have a queen. No, we're not going to have a queen. No, no, no. Well, who's going to be? Well, we're going to change it every four years. No, that will never work. And maybe they're right. We change it every eight years normally. But this idea is terrific. And, you know, through the planetary society, I now go to the offices of members of the US Congress and Senate. And it was just a month ago, a third week of September, we had our day of action. And we were on Capitol Hill, 105 people who pay their own way to Washington, D.C., to meet with their members of Congress. And so I was in one day, I was in Chuck Schumer's office and Ted Cruz's office. And these guys don't get along on about anything, but they do get along about the importance of space exploration and funding NASA and so on. So I believe, perhaps in kooky fashion, delusional fashion, that we can find common ground and move forward. And this common ground is going to be through science. And you can meet several members of Congress. I met, I had 21 meetings in two days, but you can meet members of Congress and their staffs, staff people who are unaware of Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution. And by the way, the US Constitution is now available in paperback. Article 1, Article 1, Section 8 is kind of the miscellany. Other jobs of Congress. Article 7, I mean, Article 1, Section 7 is about the postal service. So anybody who tells you we're going to close the post office is not paying attention. Are you high? We're not closing the post office. We're crying out loud. But Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 refers to the job of Congress is to promote the progress of science and useful arts. It's in the Constitution. And to me, useful arts refers to 18th century description of engineering, using science to make stuff, bridges, buildings, plows, what have you, and of course, weapons. But people are unaware of that. And the word science was extant in 1786 and 91 when they finally signed it all. But the word scientist apparently didn't come along until about 1830. It's really remarkable. So it is an honor and a remarkable thing to be living on Earth right now. This is the most exciting time in human history. As messed up as things seem to be, we are making more discoveries more rapidly. We are engaging more people. We are raising the standard of living of more women and girls than ever in history. And so let's go, people. That's true. Let's get
